This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) had three faculty (Drs. Carlson, Shaffer, and Simon) supported by the INBRE grant during the 2009-2010 funding cycle. In April 2009, Dr. Paul Twigg was released from his INBRE responsibilities and in January 2009, Dr. Dawn Simon joined the faculty at UNK, but her INBRE support did not start until May 1, 2009. Currently, Dr. Kimberly Carlson is serving as the steering committee representative for the INBRE grant. In addition, Drs. Carlson, Shaffer, and Simon were awarded an Administrative Supplement Notice for Students and Science Educators as part of the INBRE program and each had a teacher, a high school student, and an undergraduate student working in their labs for the 2009 -10 summers. Dr. Carlson published one paper and has another one in press. The published paper is: Gilling Christine E* and Carlson Kimberly A*. The effect of OTK18 upregulation in U937 cells on neuronal survival. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 45(5-6): 243-51 2009. PMID: 19247725. INBRE grant cited. The paper in press is: Billingsley, James, and Carlson Kimberly A*. Epigenetic effects of diet on fruit fly lifespan: an investigation to teach epigenetics to biology students. Amer Biol Teach. In press. INBRE grant cited. Lastly, she was awarded an NCRR Supplement for the Pilot Project she is working on in collaboration with her INBRE mentor, Dr. Lawrence Harshman for 2009-2011 that totals $397,818. This was in conjunction with the INBRE program. Dr. Julie Shaffer has had a paper published this past year: Jacques Betty J., Akahane Shusaku, Abe Michiko, Middleton Wendi, Hoback W. Wyatt, and Shaffer Julie J.* Temperature and food availability differentially affect the production of antimicrobial compounds produced by two species of burying beetles. J Chem Ecol 35(8):871-877 2009. PMID: 19690920. INBRE grant cited. She also presented her work at the American Society for Microbiology. Lastly, she has had two grants awarded to her and her collaborators totaling $75,000 for studying halophiles in alkaline lakes. Dr. Dawn Simon joined the INBRE program in May 2009 and had a paper published this past year: Simon, Dawn M*, Kelchner, Scot A., and Zimmerly, Steven. A broad-scale phylogenetic analysis of group II intron RNAs and intron-encoded reverse transcriptases. Mol Biol Evol 26:2795-2808 2009. PMID: 19713327. She has been successful at establishing her laboratory and obtaining the necessary equipment to get her research program underway. She currently has four students working with her in accomplishing the aims outlined in her INBRE proposal. UNK began the 2009-2010 INBRE grant cycle with 5 BRIN scholars, Becky Fusby, Andrew Block, Brandon Mizner, Marcelle Strydom, and Audra Kennedy. Becky and Andrew will graduate in May 2010 and both are hoping to matriculate into a PhD program. Audra withdrew from the INBRE program during the summer at UNMC due to personal reasons. Three new students will be selected in mid-February 2010, and begin the program May 2010. During 2009-20010, we were also able to purchase two Eppendorf Mastercylcers, multiple incubators, an autoclave, a lyophilizer, and many other pieces of equipment to be used for INBRE research projects. UNK Faculty: Project Descriptions and Yearly Progress INBRE Faculty: Kimberly A. Carlson, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Kearney Room 201D, Bruner Hall of Science Kearney, NE 68849 Phone: (308)865-1554 FAX: (308)865-8045 Email: carlsonka1@unk.edu Area of Interest: Characterization of differential gene regulation during natural aging using large populations of laboratory reared and naturally occurring populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Training Campus Mentor: Dr. Lawrence Harshman University of Nebraska-Lincoln 335A Manter Hall Lincoln, NE 68588-0118 Phone: (402) 472-0680 FAX: (402) 472-2083 Email: lharsman1@unl.edu Faculty/Mentor Relationships: Dr Harshman and I are in constant communication with each other. Our projects are truly collaborative. Dr. Harshman visited UNK in June and August 2009. In addition, we are analyzing data for a large project and preparing a manuscript for publication. INBRE Faculty: Julie J. Shaffer, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Kearney Room 316, Bruner Hall of Science Kearney, NE 68849 Phone: (308)865-8661 FAX: (308)865-8045 Email: shafferjj@unk.edu Area of Interest: Identification and characterization of extremozymes from alkaliphiles found in hyper alkaline-saline lakes in western Nebraska lakes. Training Campus Mentor: Dr. Vicki Schlegel Associate Professor Department of Food Science and Technology University of Nebraska-Lincoln 326 FOOD Lincoln, NE 68583-0919 Phone: (402)416-0294 Email: vschlegel3@unl.edu Faculty/Mentor Relationships: I have been in contact with Dr. Schlegel by email. We are working on a paper on the use of FTIR for identification of bacteria from hyper alkaline-saline lakes for which Dr. Schlegel is the corresponding author. INBRE Faculty: Dawn M. Simon, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Kearney Room 201C, Bruner Hall of Science Kearney, NE 68849 Phone: (308)865-8470 FAX: (308)865-8045 Email: simondm@unk.edu Area of Interest: Degeneration of group II introns and the use of phylogenetics to infer evolutionary history of introns (and other fast-evolving sequences). Training Campus Mentor: Dr. Hesham H. Ali University of Nebraska-Omaha 172B PKI Omaha, NE 68182-0116 Phone: (402) 554-2277 FAX: (402) 554-3284 Email: hali@mail.unomaha.edu Faculty/Mentor Relationships: I visited Dr. Ali and the Bioinformatics group at UNO in the fall and we discussed several potential collaborative projects. We are now in the process of conducting preliminary analyses to assess the feasibility of some of these projects. There are three projects we are currently pursuing. First, we are conducting analyses to explore the use of alignment-free methods to assess intron similarity. I am also compiling data for a second project using graph theory to represent secondary structural evolution. Finally, I plan to make several visits to UNO this summer to develop a pipeline for identifying group II introns in public databases. Several emails have been exchanged with Dr. Ali (and his colleagues) since the time of my visit and he plans to visit UNK in March 2010.